Mustangs Head to West Texas

Men's Basketball 2/6/2019 10:54:00 AM

Mustangs Head to West Texas

Silver City, N.M – Western New Mexico Men's Basketball continues their conference season in Canyon taking on West Texas this Thursday, before a rematch with Eastern New Mexico on Saturday afternoon.

LAST TIME OUT:

Western's men hosted UT – Permian Basin last week Thursday in their only game of the week. Their highest scoring game of the season came from the hands of Davis Wade (Jackson, MS/Will C Wood). Going 7-12 from the field, 6-11 from beyond the arc, Wade's 21 points were a season high.
Slow out of the gates, the Mustangs founds themselves down 14-0 early. Wade would snap that streak with his first three of the night. Slowly cutting into the lead, another three from Wade on top of drawing the foul left Western trailing by 11 at the half.
It was a back and forth battle in the second half as the men looked to close the gap. With just under a minute left to play, a layup from Willie McCray (Clovis, NM/Clovis/Westwind Prep Academy) gave way to only a six point lead by the Falcons. Amarion Cash (Phoenix, AZ/Mountain Pointe) drew one last foul bringing him to the foul line, making both his free throws. Cash would also connect in the paint for one last shot. Despite the efforts, the Mustangs fell 105-99.

SCOUTING THE BUFFS:

The Buffs of West Texas A&M open a four-game home stands against the Mustangs after being ranked 7^th in the most recent National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Top-25. The Buffs also come in second in the South Central Regional Poll, sitting atop the conference with a 10-1 record, 21-3 overall.
After being on the road for the past three games, WT returns home having beat Eastern New Mexico, MSU Texas and Cameron bringing their winning streak to six.
With the second best scoring offense, WT averages 82.4 points per game while holding opponents to 70.4 for the largest margin in the LSC. Senior guard, Ryan Quaid leads the team with 15.7 ppg, shooting 52.5 percent from the field, and 72.7 percent from the foul line. His average of 7.8 rebounds also puts him third in the LSC, while his offense puts him fourth overall.
Senior guard Gach Gach has played a big role in the Buff's success, grabbing 5.3 rebounds and averaging 0.8 blocked shots a game.

HISTORY VERSUS THE BUFFS:

In their last meeting back in early January, the Buffs took home a 55-72 win, leading the series 5-0 versus the Mustangs. Continuously ranked throughout the season, the Mustangs have held their own against WT.
Jon-Reese Woodson (Corpus Christi, TX/Carroll) led the Western offense in their last meeting, scoring 13 points going 5-16 from the field.

EIGHT TO GO:
With just eight games left in the regular season, the Mustang men hope to spark a second half run against familiar foes.
Their win over Texas A&M- Commerce marked their first conference win of the season, and first against a ranked opponent under head coach Matt Enriquez. This weekend marks the second to last road series for the men.

Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. (CT) in Canyon, Texas at the First United Bank Center.

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Players Mentioned

#23 Willie McCray: G; 6' 1"; Senior

#5 Davis Wade: G; 6' 1"; Senior

#10 Jon-Reese Woodson: F; 6' 9"; Senior

#24 Amarion Cash: G; 6' 3"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#23 Willie McCray
: 6' 1"; Senior
: G

#5 Davis Wade
: 6' 1"; Senior
: G

#10 Jon-Reese Woodson
: 6' 9"; Senior
: F

#24 Amarion Cash
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: G